With over a decade’s experience in the tower crane sector, Executive General Manager Damien Laforest joined the Liebherr organisation earlier this year – and he is keen to build on the reputation the brand has in this sector.
“Liebherr Tower Cranes has always had an excellent reputation as a premium product in the tower crane sector. Since I started, we have focused on what Liebherr rental can provide its clients and expand on our offering,” Damien says.
“With the rental side of the business, the most significant change is offering crane crews on construction projects in NSW. This has created new opportunities to broaden our customer base and showcase what Liebherr is about. Our QLD branch has been offering crane crews for a little longer and has a presence on many notable projects in the region.
“I always knew the strength of the Liebherr brand, what I know now (since joining), is that it is matched by the incredible people in this company. We are fortunate to have some talented employees, many with a long association with Liebherr.”
“We have been busy this year optimising the rental fleet to answer the Australian market’s needs; which means we have removed older traditional trolley-jib cranes from the fleet and have added mostly larger luffing-jib cranes.”
“Our investment focus has been on larger models with fast hoist winches, namely 357 HC-L and 542 HC-L, although we recently took delivery of another 1000 EC-H for a project in Sydney. This one is a 40-tonne version and can be installed with a maximum 91.4 metre jib. We are also excited to take delivery of our largest luffing crane, the 710 HC-L 32/64 Litronic which will be erected on a project in mid-2024,” said Damien.
Creating a long term viable rental option means packaging up more than just the tower cranes.
“We continue to invest in our sizable fleet of Alimak hoists along with generators, hook cameras, anti-collision systems as well as a variety of lifting equipment. A popular rental item currently is a product called LiUP. This is an operator lift that is designed for the crane driver or even a technician with some tooling.
“It can lift a payload of 200 kg and other than time saved on the crane climb, it runs internally within the tower sections, great for penetrations and space constraints on site. Set up time is very fast as components are installed during crane preparation in the yard and is ready to go the same day as the crane is erected,” said Damien.
“Having been showcased at Bauma 2022, we will be installing the world’s first unit of Liebherr’s hydraulic luffing-jib crane on a project in Q4 2023. We opted for the 2/4-falls version which is called the NC-LH 12-55 because it is more suited to meet the needs of the Australian market. The crane has a maximum lifting capacity of 12 tonnes and has a maximum jib length of 55 metres.”
“Aside from the rental business, we seek to increase the volume of Liebherr cranes both here and in New Zealand. The two markets differ greatly for us, as we do not rent cranes in New Zealand, instead we support the many owners of Liebherr Tower Cranes in the region. We are thankful to have many builders’ own machines and we would like to translate the benefits of Liebherr ownership to some more companies in Australia.
“We seek to expand the number of builders and subcontractors in Australia to incorporate Liebherr in their own fleets. Many builders in New Zealand have purchased Liebherr tower cranes to make us one of the most dominant brands in the country. Buyers can leverage off the local support with parts, servicing, technicians, engineering support and rigging works. As a manufacturer, Liebherr has an enviable ability to support its customers locally in Australia and New Zealand and we want more customers to experience these benefits,” he said.
The focus for Liebherr Tower Cranes includes a very transparent relationship with clients and prospective clients, says Damien.
“We are approaching the market with an open agenda, which is along the lines of ‘here we are, this is what Liebherr is about, and this is what we can offer,’ and we’ll follow through on our promises. We’re going to grow in Australia, there’s no doubt about that. The Liebherr brand is very strong, and we want to capitalise on that and reach customers like we haven’t before,” he said.
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